by Aliya DalRae
Piper went on like this for about five minutes. I was already feeling better when her verbal pace slowed, a sign that she’d realized the conversation was more one-sided than usual.
“Jessica? Is something wrong?” she asked, and I was so proud that she’d noticed in what was, for her, record time.
“Nah, I’m just tired,” I said, wishing I could tell her the truth, about Mandy being dead and about Raven being the prime suspect. About how scared I was and how desperately I’d needed to hear a friendly human voice. But I couldn’t say all that now, could I? Sworn to secrecy and everything, and I was really sorry I’d made that promise.
“I’m not sure I believe you,” Piper said. “Did something happen between you and Raven?”
“Yes—no. I don’t know.” How the hell did I explain? “We had a disagreement, is all, and I’m not sure either of us is going to be able to get past it.” I embellished the part about Raven getting over it. He’d have no problem at all. I was the one with the teeny little issue of not wanting my boyfriend to be a murderer. Does it sound weird to call a five hundred seventy-two-year-old Vampire my boyfriend? I had never thought about that before, but now it seemed ludicrous.
“Well,” Piper said, “Do you want to go out? Get some food, maybe go dancing at Good Times? They have karaoke early, and then All Night Long is playing. They’re a cover band from the eighties and they’re a total riot.”
At first I thought, no—I wasn’t so sure about hitting that particular establishment, what with the vision still fresh in my mind. However, I didn’t want to go too far, which left me with limited options. I needed to drink, a lot, but not so much that I couldn’t drive. I could hang with my friends for a while, then go home and take my buzz from happy to oblivion, before passing out in a pool of vomit. At least the first part was a goal. The pool of vomit would be conditional.
“What’s Alex doing?” I asked. Piper always knew Alex’s schedule. They’d started dating right after the Sorcerer incident, but it hadn’t really worked out. They were back to being just friends again, which was fine with me. However, Alex was dating someone new now, so getting to see him on the weekend was hit or miss.
“He’s going out with Lisha again,” Piper said, “but I’ll give him a call. Maybe if they don’t have set plans they can meet us there. It’ll be fun!” She was working so hard to sell me on this. My private misery must have been projecting like a fog horn through the phone. Not so private, I guess.
“That sounds great,” I said with more enthusiasm than I felt. “You want to meet, or you want me to come pick you up?”
“I’ve got to go exchange something at the DDS first, so I’ll meet you there about eight, ‘kay?”
“Sure. I’ll see you then,” I said, smiling as we hung up. Piper was the only person I knew who could buy Jimmy Choo shoes one minute and return a $5.00 blouse at the Discount Dollar Store the next.
Piper was rich. At least her family was. Her father was the town doctor, and her mother was heiress to the Anderson Sand & Gravel fortune. There was even a street named after her in Sebastian Heights called Piper Point, a lovely little cul-de-sac on the highest hill in the neighborhood.
But Piper was sweet, and almost never flaunted her trust fund money with Alex and me, not on purpose anyway. Still, at times I felt like a kept woman, with all the “gifts” and “favors” she showered on me. Often I had to “just say no,” and even though it hurt her feelings, I needed to maintain a smidgen of dignity. If I hadn’t, Piper would have redecorated my kitchen, painted and roofed my barn, and built an addition to my house so I could host masked balls and black tie events on the weekends.
So in spite of—or maybe because of—our differences, Piper and I were as close as sisters. I never had siblings, but from the moment I started school at Fallen Cross Elementary, Piper, Alex and I had been family. We took care of each other in ways that mattered, and with my parents gone and things falling apart with Raven, they were all I had left.
And I really needed to be around my family right now. My absolutely, completely, one hundred percent human family.
That’s why at ten ‘til eight I was seated at an oversized booth in Good Times Bar & Grill waiting for Piper. She was notorious for being fashionably late, so I entertained myself with the first of hopefully many margaritas, courtesy of Jose Cuervo.
Bonnie Miller was on stage singing a really bad karaoke version of Total Eclipse of the Heart. I wondered if she thought her first name gave her the right.
I’d set my cell to vibrate, so when it took off walking across the table, I picked it up without checking caller ID. Mistake number one, and I wasn’t even halfway into that margarita.
“Jessica, where are you?” Raven’s voice was loud and clear over the music, which didn’t surprise me. Raven had skills.
“I told Mason to tell you I needed to think, and I can’t do that with you hovering. Could you please back off for a bit, and let me figure this out?”
“I’m so sorry, Jessica. I can’t begin to understand what you’re feeling right now. But I need to hear you say that you will at least consider the possibility that I could be innocent.”
It was clear what this was doing to him, and a tiny part of me felt guilty for making him beg. My head was on a Tilt-O-Whirl, though, and I would not tell him something I didn’t believe, just to save his feelings. This was too serious.
“Raven, I’m going to say this once, and I need you to hear me.” No response. “Are you listening?”
“Yes.” His voice was a whisper, but it came across the line as a shout.
“I’m not saying I don’t believe you. I’m not saying I don’t love you. I’m just saying I need to be away from you and your—people—to figure things out. I’m so overwhelmed right now, Raven, and I need you to respect that.”
“But, Jessica—”
“No buts. We’ll talk. I promise we’ll talk, but not tonight. Not now. I’m out with Piper and maybe Alex, and I’m trying real hard to have an ordinary evening. Can you give me that? Please?”
He hesitated before replying, “Yes. Yes, of course, but Jessica now I need you to listen to me.”
I sighed. “What is it, Raven.”
“Please, be careful. Even if you doubt it, I know I didn’t hurt that girl. But someone did, and that someone is still out there. I would be lost if anything happened to you—no…” he stopped me when I started to say something. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but I can’t leave it unsaid. You’ve changed my world, and it’s because of you that I am certain of my innocence. I’m not comfortable with you being at Good Times. Promise me you’ll stay with people and you won’t go off with anyone you don’t know.”
Like I would do that? I started to say something sarcastic, something like, “I won’t leave with anyone who looks like you,” but he was just being protective, and that wasn’t unusual for my Vampire. So instead I agreed to be careful, and we hung up.
I sighed again as I put my phone back on the table and reached for my glass. I took a big gulp of margarita to wash down the lump in my throat, and rested my chin in my hands, thinking too many thoughts as I waited for Piper.
“Trouble in paradise?”
I jumped at the sound of a decidedly male voice, and stared at the man standing beside the booth I was saving for my friends.
He was—wow.
I noticed his eyes first. Almond shaped and emerald green, and when they caught the light they sparkled like the stones they resembled, accentuating sharp cheekbones and skin the color of Swiss chocolate.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
I waved away the apology. “No worries,” I said, downing the rest of my drink.
“Do you mind if I join you, or are you waiting for someone?” He spoke in a clear baritone that was warm and inviting, and I felt myself relaxing in his presence.
“I’m waiting for a friend, but you’re welcome to sit until she gets here.”
“I�
�m Ma…Mac Gatta,” he said, extending a hand as he sat on the bench across the table. When I took what was offered, I was pleased to find his palm cool, the handshake solid and firm.
“Jessica Sweet,” I said, his hand still clutched in mine. He regarded me with an odd little smile, and when he didn’t let go right away, I withdrew my hand and picked up my empty glass.
“I haven’t seen you around here before.” Holding the glass did nothing to fill it up, so I set it back on the table and looked around for the waitress.
“New in town.” He flashed a thousand watt smile, revealing perfect white teeth with regular-sized canines (and shame on me for noticing.) It was impossible not to return that smile.
“Just moved in last week,” he added as Krissy, our waitress, sidled up to take his order. I could tell she was smitten, because she didn’t bother to ask if I needed anything. Mac did, though, and I ordered another margarita. I wouldn’t lay odds on getting it, though, as Krissy was already rushing back to the bar to get Mac’s beer.
“So what do you think of our little burg?” I asked. “And why here?”
“I think it’s nice. Everyone has been very welcoming.” Go figure. “The why? Work. I just started at the Sand & Gravel out on Four.”
“What a coincidence,” I said with a smile. “The owner’s granddaughter is the friend I’m waiting for. Her name is Piper. You’ll like her.” Everyone liked Piper.
“Speak of the devil,” I said when I saw her walking toward us, Alex and Lisha in tow. I was so glad to see them all together.
Mac and I both stood, me to throw my arms first around Piper, then Alex, with a less enthusiastic but equally genuine hug for Lisha.
Piper was eyeing Mac like a Louis Vuitton handbag with a sale price tag, and I quickly made introductions.
“Mac, this is my best friend Piper—the one I was telling you about. This is my other best friend Alex, and his girlfriend Lisha.”
Lisha was a leggy blond, with a pretty heart-shaped face. I always tried to make her feel like one of the gang, even though she was coming late to that party. I didn’t know her very well, but Alex liked her, and if she made him happy, she was okay in my book.
“Everyone, this is Mac Gatta. He’s new in town, and was keeping me company while I waited for you.”
“Nice to meet you,” Mac said, and shook everyone’s hands like a gentleman, before returning his attention to me.
“I won’t intrude on your gathering.”
“No—don’t go!”
But it wasn’t me that said it. Piper had linked her arm through Mac’s and was shepherding him back to the booth. He had no choice but to take a seat, and Piper scooted in after him, blocking his escape.
Alex and Lisha joined me on the other bench and the conversation took off. Piper and Mac were discussing his job at the gravel pit, while the rest of us caught up. Krissy returned with Mac’s beer, but my drink was nowhere in sight. Somehow, she managed to take orders from the rest of the group, including another margarita for me, without ever taking her eyes off Mac. It was going to be that kind of a night.
By the time our drinks arrived, everyone was laughing and having a good time. Alex told another funny story about Harry’s, the auto repair shop where he worked as a mechanic, and when Mac spoke, everyone’s attention was on him.
Once or twice I caught Mac watching me, that funny little smile adorning his face. I won’t deny the presence of a tiny butterfly in my stomach when his eye caught mine, but that feeling had me out of sorts and drinking heavily.
I knew it was wrong to enjoy that kind of attention, subtle as it was. I was in an awkward place, though, and the idea of hanging out with a nice, regular guy? I guess it had me thinking things I shouldn’t.
Finally, the awful karaoke was done and All Night Long took the stage. As usual, Piper’s assessment was correct. They were awesome, and before long, we were all up and dancing that crazy group dance thing that people do. I was well into my third margarita by this point—maybe my fourth, but who was counting, right? I just knew it felt good to let everything go.
MC Hammer was followed by some Prince and then a lot of somethings I didn’t recognize. Piper disappeared at some point, presumably to go to the bathroom. Unlike a lot of girls, we could do that on our own now and then.
When the music slowed, I moved to return to our table, but I felt myself being drawn into strong arms.
And I didn’t fight it.
Mac wasn’t much taller than me, maybe five-foot-ten or so, and when I looked into those glass-green eyes, it was easy, comfortable. There was a connection between us, one I had avoided at margarita number one. Now, though, looking at things through Jose colored glasses? It was like a light had been turned on, and I could see him more clearly.
A flicker of guilt passed through my mind, but my thoughts of Raven were a fading shadow, and in the blink of an eye they floated away.
Mac’s hands rested on my waist, his touch light and unassuming. As we swayed with the music, I found my arms winding around his neck, my fingers lacing together beneath the thick, long dreadlocks he had tied back with a leather strap.
He smiled at me, a gentle smile that softened his features, and I looked away.
From the moment I met Raven there had been an intensity to us, a burning that grew and expanded until we detonated in some tragedy or other. After a brief period of healing, it would start again, building, blistering, only to end in another disaster.
Dancing with Mac I felt an easiness that I didn’t get around Raven, not to mention the Vampires in general. It felt natural, like I’d known him my whole life.
Which was ridiculous, of course, but when the music hit a crescendo and Mac raised his hand to rest on the back of my neck, I just went with it.
Chapter Twenty-Four
M alcolm was in heaven. After too many months, Jessica Sweet was in his arms.
Under false pretenses, the voice in his head chimed, and he cringed a little. But desperate times called for desperate measures. There was definitely a crack in the Raven/Jessica foundation, and Malcolm was ready to drive a wedge in. Hard.
The dance began with Jessica stiff and unsure, but as he held her gaze, Malcolm felt her lithe body relax in his embrace. When she stroked her thumb across the base of his skull, he suppressed a shiver, closing his eyes at the intoxicating sensation of her skin on his human skin. How long had he dreamed of this?
In his feline form, she had stroked him, nuzzled him as a human would a favored pet, but it wasn’t the same. In most cases, the human/pet dynamic was a symbiotic relationship, where each party is given the attention they need, and after they’re free to go about their business.
However, while Malcolm’s kitty form was perfectly fine with the arrangement, his human mind found the situation more and more frustrating. When Jessica was happy, he wanted to laugh with her. When she cried, he wanted to hold her, comfort her. When she worked, he wanted to help her, and when she was frightened, he wanted to protect her.
How many hours had they spent together with her talking to him, telling him her hopes and dreams, her worries and fears? He had longed to reply, to remind her that she was strong and would be okay if she had half the faith in herself that Malcolm had in her.
So many nights he had watched her leave with the Vampire, wishing she would look at him with the same passion, the same emotion. Now she was in his arms, stroking him, smiling at him, and life couldn’t be more perfect.
“What are you thinking?”
She’d breathed the words, but his hearing was superb. Besides, he was so attuned to her voice, to her, that he would have heard her whisper in a hurricane.
Malcolm smiled at the beauty in his arms and said, “Nothing—everything.” He shook his head, knowing he sounded like a fool. “Sorry, there’s just too much.”
Jessica leaned into him, rested her velvet cheek against his, and spoke again, her breath feathering against his ear. “Do I know you?”
The question su
rprised Malcolm, but he spun her around in a subtle move designed to buy him time. When she returned to his arms he pressed his cheek against hers and suggested, “Perhaps in another life we were lovers?”
She paused now, and pulled away just enough so she could search his face. She tilted her head, her eyes widening a bit. “That’s just how I feel.”
That was the moment Malcolm knew he’d made the right choice in coming here tonight.
He reached a hand up and gently cupped her face. She held his gaze, unblinking, unfaltering, and he knew if he leaned in to kiss her, she would let him. They were barely moving now, their eyes locked in a visual embrace.
Malcolm brushed his fingers through her silky curls and with his hand on the back of her head, gently pulled her toward him. They were moving in slow motion, the rest of the world having faded to a motionless, soundless shadow around them.
And when he pressed a gentle kiss to her full, soft lips, she melted against him. His whole body was awake now, alive and on fire for the first time since…
Chapter Twenty-Five
M y body was liquid. Mac’s kiss was so gentle, so perfect and pure, and it felt like we’d been doing this forever. It was innocent and naughty, and if Piper hadn’t chosen that moment to intervene, I don’t know where it would have led.
But Piper, my friend, my conscience, turned out to be my savior as well, when she leaned in and whispered in my ear.
“I’m not sure what’s going on here, but Raven is over by the restrooms. I don’t think he saw you, but you might want to put some air between the two of you before he does.”
Unbelievable. I told him I wanted space, and what does he do? Comes to the one place he knows I’ll be. To what? Spy on me? Keep an eye on me? Protect me?
I was furious—and more than a little soused—and as much as I knew the anger should be directed inward, I chose to project it onto Raven instead.
Raven, who I reminded myself, wasn’t exactly innocent here. Maybe he killed Mandy, maybe he didn’t—I didn’t really know anymore. But for five minutes I’d felt like a regular girl, and now I felt like crap.